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  #1  
Old 09-05-2021, 07:55 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Default Heard It Through the Grapevine by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong



This song was published in 1966 when I graduated from high school. It was first recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips. The next year Marvin Gaye recorded this.

I always loved this song but it was pitched too high for me. I got to wondering recently if I could do this song acceptably well with an acoustic guitar, so I transposed it to where I could sing it. I added bass and drums and also added myself doing background vocals.

I hope you like this. I had a little trouble in my role of background singer(s) sitting still because of the infectious beat and all the syncopation built into this song. It was fun...

Thanks for watching!

- Glenn
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Old 09-05-2021, 08:38 PM
cedartop52 cedartop52 is offline
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That was great fun to listen to...looks like you (all 5 or 6 of you) were having a good time too! Thanks, Dan
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Old 09-05-2021, 08:56 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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That was great fun to listen to...looks like you (all 5 or 6 of you) were having a good time too! Thanks, Dan
Hi Dan!

Yes, it was a fun song to do! And it was fun to do a multi-track recording like this with drums and bass and background vocals! I really enjoy the puzzle of putting all this stuff together.

Thanks so much for watching and for taking time to comment! Much appreciated!

I hope all is well for you Dan!

- Glenn
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Old 09-06-2021, 08:36 AM
westview westview is offline
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Really enjoyed that and it looked like fun.
Nice arrangement and your back up singers were good, too.
Loved Marvin's version. Reminded me of my Jr. High days and awkwardly asking girls to dance at the Friday dances in the gym. I use to play it years ago.
Now I have to dig up the old sheet music and play it again. Thanks for sharing.
Think I'll have another listen.
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Old 09-06-2021, 09:44 AM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Really enjoyed that and it looked like fun.
Nice arrangement and your back up singers were good, too.
Loved Marvin's version. Reminded me of my Jr. High days and awkwardly asking girls to dance at the Friday dances in the gym. I use to play it years ago.
Now I have to dig up the old sheet music and play it again. Thanks for sharing.
Think I'll have another listen.
Hi Westview!

Thanks for your thoughts and comments!

Yes, this song really takes me back in time, too. It was a great dance song!

Hopefully your old sheet music is in a key where you can sing it! Marvin Gaye's version was pitched super high, where he was hitting high D notes falsetto. He sure had a great vocal range. I transposed his version from Dm down to Am, 5 half tones lower. Even then, I have to hit high A notes falsetto, which is still pretty high.

Hope all is well for you! Be well!

- Glenn
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Old 09-06-2021, 04:52 PM
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Hey Glenn another great song selection and another great performance. Enjoyed every minute and that Santa Cruz sounds so sweet.
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Old 09-06-2021, 06:18 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Hey Glenn another great song selection and another great performance. Enjoyed every minute and that Santa Cruz sounds so sweet.
Thank you Started!

I'm glad you enjoyed this. Thank you for listening and for your comments.

I thought the Santa Cruz OM/PW worked well for this song, too. It's so light and a good size to use for figuring out a song in front of my studio computer, that I use it a lot when working out how to play something. And this sounded so good from the beginning on "Grapevine" that I never even tried any other guitar.

Thanks for your thoughts! I hope you are enjoying New York in the fall.

Be well,
Glenn
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Old 09-06-2021, 07:08 PM
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Great job Glenn(s)!

Another seamless music and pro quality video by Glenn Productions! I enjoyed it.
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Old 09-06-2021, 08:01 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Great job Glenn(s)!

Another seamless music and pro quality video by Glenn Productions! I enjoyed it.
Hi Barry,

Thanks so much! I'm glad you thought this came out okay! Thank you for taking time to watch and comment!

I hope all is well for you there in New Jersey!

- Glenn
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Old 09-07-2021, 11:32 AM
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Organic Sounds Select Guitars Organic Sounds Select Guitars is offline
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Glenn,

You are such an incredibly talented man! That was fantastic, couldn't keep still while listening. Such a classic great tune. I loved it!
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Old 09-07-2021, 12:31 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Glenn,

You are such an incredibly talented man! That was fantastic, couldn't keep still while listening. Such a classic great tune. I loved it!
Thank you Larry!

How nice of you! Thank you for the kind words!

The beat and all that syncopation really is infectious, at least for me. I'm so glad you enjoyed my version of this great old song.

I hope you are doing well Larry! And I hope your business is going well!

Take care,
Glenn
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Old 09-07-2021, 08:06 PM
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Well, "The Band Glennwillow" steps out again in style, sound and memories! Great job Glenn. We both graduated from high school the same year, so I'm sure you can imagine my own memory bank as this tune comes rushing in from my youth! LOL! Yes, seems like yesterday!
Amazing technical and musical accomplishments, Glenn. Always wonder "how'd you do that!" when you post these very complete and professional creations.
Hope all is well.....doing fine here.
Best,
Fred
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  #13  
Old 09-07-2021, 08:49 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Originally Posted by islandguitar View Post
Well, "The Band Glennwillow" steps out again in style, sound and memories! Great job Glenn. We both graduated from high school the same year, so I'm sure you can imagine my own memory bank as this tune comes rushing in from my youth! LOL! Yes, seems like yesterday!
Amazing technical and musical accomplishments, Glenn. Always wonder "how'd you do that!" when you post these very complete and professional creations.
Hope all is well.....doing fine here.
Best,
Fred
Thank you Fred!

I appreciate your very supportive and encouraging comments!

I didn't realize that we both graduated high school in 1966. How interesting! So, you have this song in your memory banks, too! Fascinating!

I have done a few of these multi-track projects in recent years, so I have developed a method for how to put these puzzles together. Because of that previous experience, I really enjoyed putting this one together. I was able to get all the recording and video done in two morning sessions, so it wasn't terribly difficult, maybe requiring a total of 10-12 hours in my studio to get the various parts down. It was fun and quite rewarding.

And I enjoy this combination of technical and artistic stuff. Part of my enjoyment, I suppose, is because I'm an engineer, but I also think of myself as a musician, even if it's been a couple of decades since I made any money at this business. So I also really enjoy hearing the music come together.

As you know, this recording business is never perfect. I had to spend about an hour just getting the background vocals down correctly, getting all the "oohs" in the right place, and getting mostly in tune.

The bass part was surprisingly easy, but getting my playing really synched in tightly with the drums took a few tries.

I had 8 video tracks to edit together, but the video editing took only a couple of hours, which surprised me. I am getting to be fairly decisive about how to put the pieces together quickly.

So, it looks more complicated than it actually was. The good thing about it was that it was fun! It's a great song with a great beat!

I hope all is well for you Fred! Thanks so much for your kind comments!

- Glenn
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Old 09-09-2021, 06:46 AM
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Another great production! Loved the arrangement, too.

Takes me way back, too. (I saw Gladys Knight & The Pips in '68 or '69, and soul music was what I played in the first few bands I was in (trumpet) before starting my slow shift over to R&R that was going on just about then.)

p.s. You got out of HS 2 years before me - not the best of times...

p.p.s. And the grapevines - perfect!
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Old 09-09-2021, 08:56 AM
woodenstrings woodenstrings is offline
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As always, absolutely Fantastic Glenn.
I'm glad to get a front row seat when ever you post.
Thanks for sharing
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